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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Another comment . . . . if your books are old and in the original bindings, follow the advice below. If, however, they have already been rebound, and that binding is falling apart, you might want to consider repeating the process, of course going to a competent restorer who will use acid free paper etc. Meg -----Original Message----- From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of FISC Librarian Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 5:59 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [M-R] Book Preservation medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Hi. Let's take the issue of handling books back to basics... If you are lucky enough (as I am) to be dealing with very old items written on vellum or similar, then remember that this is in fact skin, and so long as your skin is clean (not too freshly washed in strong soaps or detergents, and not too sweaty) then your skin is unlikely to have anything on it which would significantly impact the condition of your book - so long as the book has been well kept through the centuries. (Putting back the natural moisture, oils and acids of skin into a volume from which they have been leached over time is important but risky, so be particularly careful if your book has dried out in storage.) The degree to which books printed on paper will be damaged by handling will vary according to the material - is it wood paper, rag paper etc.; what is the acidity of the ink. The whole scenario is too complex for much detail here, even if I were able to provide it. It usually will be better to wear gloves than not to - but that depends on the gloves. The really important thing is not how abrasive the gloves might be, but how clean; how "neutral". Clean does not mean freshly washed - it certainly does not mean freshly washed in biological or other strong detergent, because those chemicals can and almost certainly will do more harm than even sweaty fingers. Gloves do need washing from time to time to prevent the transference of mites, and to minimise the spreading of dirt. If your gloves need washing, use a very gentle soap, and rinse the gloves very thoroughly indeed. Then rinse then again. In fact, I usually go through the whole wash & rinse process twice, once with a mild soap and once with nothing but water, and you can often still taste the soap if you lick the back of the glove near the cuff (which is one place that is unlikely to come into contact with a book, and so is a relatively safe place to test). Some people advocate replacing gloves rather than washing them. I'm not convinced - new gloves (and this applies to latex etc. as well as cotton ones) are very rarely as chemically neutral as extremely well washed and rinsed gloves. But should books be used at all if they are fragile? I have some volumes which out-and-out conservators believe should never be used because: 1) they cannot be used without repair; 2) they cannot be repaired without removing the remaining traces of original binding; 3) the remaining original binding is in itself too valuable to remove. Hence, they tell me, do not use the books. To such people I apologise that I am with those who believe that books are there to be used (quite apart from the fact that leaving a book unused through decases or centuries can itself cause problems). If the item is fragile, then make a surrogate copy - electronic, yes, but consider using that electronic copy to produce a new physical item that can be consulted. Do not even think of putting the book on a photocopier - use a camera of other device that will reduce the pressure and the physical contact on the book, and which should avoid the need to open the book flat. Whenever using a fragile book, consider using a book pillow to put it on. It reduces wear, and will hold the book (using just the book's own weight) in a stable position, without you having to force the spine to open flat. Don't hold the book continually; don't even hold down the pages. If they will not lie open and still enough for you to read them, then lay a piece of book tape across the pages to hold them down, with, if necessary, a weight tied to each end of the tape - and the weights should lie on the table top, rather than being supported by the book and the tape. The important bit here is not how heavy the weights are, but how long the piece of tape is - it should be long enough for the weights to lie on the table top but short enough to hold the pages down. What I wrote above about washing gloves applies equally to washing the tape. Be particularly careful if the edges of the pages are damaged. Never touch the book on the printed surface - touch only the margins. One thing that worries many people is what is often called "red rot" - a phrase which is frequently used to refer to the way that leather bindings powder and create a real mess. It is, as I understand it, usually a result of the leather not having been properly treated originally, and there is little you can do about it. Yes, applying moisture with a leather dressing will improve the look of the binding and reduce the amount of dust that the book sheds, but can damage the binding, the pages and the text. Minimise damage and mess by minimising contact with the book rather than applying gunk. Use a book pillow, gloves etc.. If the problem is the mess that the rot makes on your clothes and hands, wear older clothes. The book has to take priority. If the problem is the mess on the desk or the book pillow, then you just have to accept that a clean-up job is necessary after you have finished using the book. Again, the book has to take priority. A recent exhibition at the British Library noted this from a manuscript written in northern Spain around the year 1100 (and it still applies!): "The work of writing makes one lose his sight, it hunches his back, it breaks ribs and bothers the stomach, it pains the kidneys and causes aches throughout the body. Therefore, you the reader, turn the pages carefully and keep your fingers from the letters, because just as hail destroys the fields, the useless reader erases the text and destroys the book." Enjoy your books and your reading! Lance ====================== Lance Housley TSSF Librarian Franciscan International Study Centre Giles Lane Canterbury Kent CT2 7NA John Briggs wrote: > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture > > Conrad Bladey wrote: >> >> 2. While not as iportant for books and paper as for metal handle with >> gloves. However, golves for books should be as non abrasive as >> possible. Fingers are less harsh than ctton gloves in this regard. A >> plastic rubber sort of glove may be better. > > I would disagree. For printed books, gloves will do more harm than good. > Clean, dry hands are far preferable. > >> General rule. Don't handle the book make a copy. > > This is faintly ridiculous. Books are for use (Ranganathan). > > John Briggs > > ********************************************************************** > To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME > to: [log in to unmask] > To send a message to the list, address it to: > [log in to unmask] > To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion > to: [log in to unmask] > In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: > [log in to unmask] > For further information, visit our web site: > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html > ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html